Counter protector for women&#39;s shoes



March 15, 1966 E. v. NORTQN 3,239,953

COUNTER PROTECTOR FOR WOMEN'S SHOES Filed April 15, 1963 INVENTOR [VA 1NO Q ATTOk/VE).

United States Patent 3,239,953 COUNTER PROTECTOR FOR WOMENS SHOES Eva V.Norton, Sachem Lane, Greenwich, Conn. Filed Apr. 15, 1963, Ser. No.273,053 3 Claims. (on. 36-72) This invention relates to a counterprotector for womens shoes, and more especially to such a protectorwhich a woman may attach to her shoe or shoes for wearing when driving acar, and which may be easily and quickly attached and removed, and whichwill not be unsightly or cumbersome, yet will effectively prevent thescufiing and scratching of the shoe or shoes from rubbing against thecar floor mat when operating the gas pedal, brake, or clutch.

I am aware that similar articles have been proposed, but as far as I amaware, none is satisfactory. They suffer from defects, among which maybe mentioned that they do not fit more than one style or type of shoe,they do not protect the shoe against the points of wear, they are likelyto come off in use, and their appearance disfigures the shoe.

It is an object of my invention to provide a counter protector which isso designed and constructed that it will fit substantially all types ofwomens shoes, whether low or high heeled, will protect the shoe in thescuffing areas, and which, when applied to the shoe, will remainsecurely in position.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a protectorwhich may be made inexpensively from plastic, clear and transparent ifdesired, so as not to mar the appearance of the shoe on which it isworn.

Still other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent fromthe specification.

The features of novelty which I believe to be characteristic of myinvention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. Myinvention itself, however, both as to its fundamental principles and asto its particular embodiments, will best be understood from thespecification and accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a womans shoe with my protector in place,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of my protector before attaching to the shoe,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on lines 3-3,

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of my protector, and

FIG. 5 is a detail sectional view of a modified form of my invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, an examination of shoesworn by women driving a car shows that the right shoe is scuffed on theright side of the counter near the heel, in the general area indicatedon FIG. 1 by A.

With cars having an automatic transmission, and no clutch pedal, theleft shoe is not ordinarily scuffed, because the left foot is not used,but this is not true with cars having a manual transmission, in whichcase the left shoe may be scuffed in a mating area.

Womens shoes may vary widely as to type and style of heel, but thecounters are generally all substantially the same size and shape, sothat the protector according to my invention may be made in a singlesize and shape, and yet fit shoes having high or low heels, and rightand left shoes.

The protector according to my invention comprises a main protectingportion embracing the counter, and having, at its upper side, a tab 11spaced from portion 10 for insertion into the shoe. The portion 10 mayhave a pair of strips 12 and 13 extending forwardly and downwardly, andcarrying snap fastener 14 by which the strips may be easily secured whenthe protector is attached, and which aid in holding the protector inposition.

In the modification shown in FIG. 5 the tab portion 11 may be extendeddownwardly and forwardly to lie along the inside of the sole at theheel, thus providing further security against accidental loss of theprotector while being worn.

The protector may be formed from a suitable single piece of plastic, orfor economy of manufacture by avoiding the use of complicated dies ormolds, the upper rim of portion 10 may be shaped to provide an inwardlyextending bulge 16, as shown in FIG. 5, and the tab 11 may be formed asa separate piece and then heat welded to the outer portion 10 along theline of the bulge 16. This leaves a space between the upper part ofportion 10 and tab 11, to facilitate easy application of the protectorto the shoe, and still permit a snug fit.

If the plastic is made sufliciently thick and strong, the strips 12 and13 may be terminated just beyond the outer portion of the heel, in whichcase strips 12 and 13 do not overlap and no snap fastener is used.

In the foregoing, I have shown and described certain preferredembodiments of my invention, and the best mode presently known to me forpracticing my invention, but it should be understood that modificationsand changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofmy invention.

I claim:

1. For use with a shoe which has a heel portion and a counter portion, ashoe protector comprising a body shaped to conform to the outer shape ofthe counter portion of a shoe, and a pair of arms extending from thelower part of said body, one of said arms passing on each side of a shoeheel portion, fastener means on the ends of each of said arms to fastensaid arms together about the upper part of a shoe heel to maintain saidprotector in place, and a tab shaped to conform to the interior of ashoe counter portion and extending forward at its free end to lie on ashoe inner sole under the heel of the wearer.

2. The protector defined in claim 1 wherein said protector is formed ofa transparent heat-weldable plastic material.

3. In combination with a shoe having a heel and a counter portion, ashoe protector, said protector being constructed of transparent plasticmaterial and having a body portion and a pair of arms, each of said armsextending from the lower portion of the body portion and embracing bothsides of the heel and overlapping at their extremities, and fasteningmeans for securing the ends of said arms to each other, said bodyportion having a configuration conforming with the shoe from below thetop of the heel to the top of the counter portion and extendingforwardly on both sides of the counter portion to protect the counterportion against scufllng, said body portion having a tab portion at itstop, said tab portion extending against the back of the wearers heel andalong the inside of the sole of the shoe under the wearers heel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,691,582 11/1928Nowak 36--72 1,828,246 10/1931 Destro 3672 3,025,617 3/ 1962 Rizzonelli36-72 3,063,172 11/1962 Beattie 36-72 3,112,571 12/1963 Musgrave 367(]FOREIGN PATENTS 632,975 7/ 1936 Germany.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

FRANK J. COHEN, Examiner.

1. FOR USE WITH A SHOE WHICH HAS A HEEL PORTION AND A COUNTER PORTION, ASHOE PROTECTOR COMPRISING A BODY SHAPED TO CONFORM TO THE OUTER SHAPE OFTHE COUNTER PORTION OF A SHOE, AND A PAIR OF ARMS EXTENDING FROM THELOWER PART OF SAID BODY, ONE OF SAID ARMS PASSING ON EACH SIDE OF A SHOEHEEL PORTION, FASTENER MEANS ON THE ENDS OF EACH OF SAID ARMS TO FASTENSAID ARMS TOGETHER ABOUT THE UPPER PART OF A SHOE HEEL TO MAINTAIN SAIDPROTECTOR IN PLACE, AND A TAB SHAPED TO CONFORM TO THE INTERIOR OF ASHOE COUNTER PORTION AND EXTENDING FORWARD AT ITS FREE END TO LIE ON ASHOE INNER SOLE UNDER THE HEEL OF THE WEARER.